This invention relates in general to articles of combustion and, more particularly, to a hand-operated devicce for making logs from combustible sheet material.
Heretofore, with increased cost of wood as a source of combustion, primarily for home usage, as within fire places and stoves, considerable attention has been directed to the utilization of paper and like sheet material as a substitute. Various efforts have been made to compact paper into a unitary body to provide relatively long term burning as distinguished from the usual quick, flash-like flaming when sheets are burned. Such efforts have included trials at developing a discrete log-simulative member from a multiplicity of paper sheets. But such attempts have met with indifferent success as the problem of forming such members, as well as retaining same in formed state for any appreciable length of time has proved extremely difficult and unsatisfactory.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hand-operated device for developing combustible discrete bodies of log-shape from sheet material, which bodies will retain their formation for indefinite periods of time and, hence, be amenable to storage pending usage.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device of the character stated for producing a log from combustible sheet material when the said components are interwound in a coil condition appropriate to provide desired slow-burning, yet capable of high heat productivity.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a device of the character stated which is uniquely designed for home usage so that the average unskilled individual may readily, and without undue exertion, effect the formations of such combustible log-simulative member; thereby obviating the need for skilled assistance as well as eliminating the requirement for purchasing costly wooden logs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device of the character stated which is economically made from a limited number of durable, wear-resistant components; which device is relatively light-weight and, hence, provides no barriers to ease of transportability; and which is highly reliable and durable in usage.